Meat-tag.



No. 847,469; PATENTED MAR. 19,. 1907.

P. B. GRAHAM.

MEAT TAG. APPLIUATIO-N FILED 001220, 1906.

US INSPECTE D8 PASSED ABTY 2 7H5 NORRIS pzrsns cm, wasmmmm. n. I:v

UNITED STAFS PATENT OFFICE.

MEAT-TAG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 19, 1907.

Application filed October 20, 1906. Serial No. 339.869.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK E. GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Meat-Tags; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in tags, especially adapted for marking meats which have been inspected, and comprises a strip, preferably of aluminium or any suitable non-corrosive metal, provided with spurs at the ends thereof, which terminate at their inner portions in shoulders adapted to limit the depth at which the spurs are inserted in the meat and in the pro-. vision of recesses formed one in each tapering edge of the s ur and upon diametrically opposite edges 0 the spurs, whereby the tag may be guided properly and balanced as it is applied to the meat.

' My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this application, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the application of my device to a ham. Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the device as applied to the meat. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the tag before being bent in shape to be applied to the meat, and Fig. 4 is a view showing in solid lines an edge elevation of the tag bent in position to be applied to the meat and in dotted lines the position it assumes when fastened to the latter.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a strip of metal, preferably of aluminium or other non-corrosive material, having a spur B at each end thereof, the inner portions of which spurs terminate in shoulders D, which serve to limit the depth at which the spurs are adapted to be inserted. in the meat. One of said spurs is provided with a recess E, formed upon one of its tapering edges, the edges at the outer end of said recess being adapted to serve as means for preventing the spur loosening from the meat when applied thereto. The spur at the opposite end of the device is also provided with a recess F, although upon the opposite tapering edge of the spur from that of the corres onding spurs in which the recess E is formed By the provision of a tag having spurs with recesses formed diagonally op osite each other and one upon each incline edge of the spur I have found that when the tag is inserted in the flexible skin of a ham the edge I of the slit made by inserting the spur will 1 spring back into the recess upon each spur, and in the event of any object coming against one or the other of the longitudinal edges of the tag and having a tendency to loosen the same the flexible edge of the skin engaging the recess will tend to hold the tag securely. By having a recess formed in one edge only of the spur also serves to reinforce the spur, the strength of which would be impaired if recesses were formed one upon each edge.

In applying the device the tag is first bent in the shape shown in solid lines in Fig. 4 of the drawings, with the spurs diverging from each other, so that when the latter are pushed into the meat they will take inclined courses and when the tag is flattened out they will engage the meat a slight distance underneath the surface thereof. When the tag has been applied to the meat, portions of the meat filling the recesses will serve to prevent the spurs accidentally loosening from the meat, and longitudinal movement of the tag will be prevented by the shoulders at the ends thereof coming in contact with the meat at the ends of the slits formed by the insertion of the spurs, thereby forming a secure means for holding the tag when the outer surface thereof is practically flush with the surface of the meat, not oflering any obstruction. By making the tag of aluminium being inclined and terminating in angled shoulders, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK E. GRAHAM.

l/Vitnesses A. L. HoUGH, N. A. MAYHEW. 

